Difficult, sometimes seemingly impossible scenarios will occur frequently when you are on the quest to achieve financial freedom. Discipline is the one thing that separates those who get through adversity and those who don’t. To paraphrase a quote I once heard the great Mike Tyson say, “In order to be successful, you need to do what you hate to do, but do it like you love it.” There’s a lot of meaning in this quote that we should unpack. In essence, following the guidelines set by that one sentence for your entire life in whatever you choose will make you unstoppable.
Do it like you love it
Every day, there are things we know we have to do but don’t do them. We make ourselves busy and distract ourselves from what really needs to get done. I have been a victim of this just like everyone else at one point or another. Sometimes, I still catch myself avoiding the important because it is uncomfortable rather than tackling it. To make it simple, being successful at something is not overly complicated. Oftentimes, the processes are quite simple in practice. For example, a great strategy to get started in real estate is cold calling or texting, however, many people avoid this as much as they can because it is uncomfortable, essentially shooting themselves in the foot before they even get started. These people know what must be done but come up with every excuse in the book, either consciously or unconsciously, to avoid doing it. If you cold call for hours on end every day in the beginning of your journey, it’s very difficult to fail in real estate. It may take you 1,000 calls of getting hung up on or cursed at but there will be that one that converts for you. Like dominoes, one leads to another and one lead can quickly turn into several. Of course, there are other ways of generating leads in the example of real estate. Some require money, and others require time, and if you don’t have the money there really only is the time option.
This principle applies to anything and everything. By no means am I a runner, however, over the last 3 weeks I have pushed myself hard in preparation to run a marathon. I eat clean, understand how my body responds to certain nutrients and stimuli, and I just do what I need to do every day. There is no “I don’t feel like doing this today”. There is no “maybe I’ll do it later or tomorrow”. To be great and achieve success at anything, there are activities you must perform every day that are non negotiable. It doesn’t matter how you feel, no one cares. Success comes from consistency and otherworldly discipline. You may not see instant results a lot of the time, but if you trust the process, the process will eventually reward you for doing so.
Leveling up
In certain aspects, going back to the real estate example, being disciplined and consistent will allow you to eventually leverage out some of the tasks you hate the most such as the cold calling. When you have enough success at something like this and you have the money to buy back your time, doing so is part of leveling up in life and reaching the next tier of success. There are always going to be things you don’t like doing that you’ll need to do at any level, the only difference is that the problems to be solved get more complex as you level up.
In the running example, leveling up happens in a different way. Eventually, the routine you’ll grow accustomed to will become easier and easier until it’s barely a challenge anymore. The only way to get the hunger and discipline back to reach the next tier is to continue to expand your comfort zone and make the routine more and more difficult until part of you dreads it again. Putting yourself in this uncomfortable and challenging situation in conjunction with the extreme discipline you’ll develop will allow you to keep leveling up as far as you want to go barring injury.
Any time you’re comfortable and there is no challenge to what you’re doing, you’re stagnating. There are bigger things for you to accomplish out there that require your attention that you might not be aware of. Develop strong discipline, chase discomfort, and keep leveling up in every aspect of your life. All the aspects of your life are symbiotic, meaning that one realm affects all others. If you aren’t developing the discipline you need physically, some of this will likely carry over to the financial, relationships, and other key areas of your life as well. Having discipline in all areas and constantly challenging yourself is the most rewarding experience in life that you can achieve. Set goals and follow through. Don’t avoid things because they’re hard, monotonous, or boring. Do what you have to do and develop yourself into the best person you can be! You won’t regret it!